


It's a Long Road

by RinChanSanMatsuoka



Series: Sourin week Sept 2015 [6]
Category: Free!
Genre: Gang Violence, Gangs, Gun Violence, M/M, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Violence, flashbacks caused by PTSD, i was so tired writing the fight scene i BS'd the gun stuff, kisumi shows up in flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 15:15:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4840310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/pseuds/RinChanSanMatsuoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sourin week day 6<br/>Prompts: Paper (Rambo & Bernardo) + Aiko Desho (Confession) with a tiny bit of sfw Scissors (Voice Kink) thrown in.  Just a smidge.</p><p>After the war, Sousuke tries to find his oldest friend but Rin has gotten involved in some dangerous undertakings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Long Road

**Author's Note:**

> A few notes: This is set in California in 1947. Sousuke is 23 and Rin is 20. The camp mentioned is an internment camp. Sousuke and Rin are both _Nisei._ I took the title from the Rambo soundtrack and I was so tired writing the fight scene I probably BS’d the gun stuff. Forgive me.
> 
> Heavily inspired by chocolate-rin's art for Day 6 on tumblr! You can find it [here](http://chocolate-rin.tumblr.com/post/129453008338/sourin-week-day-6-paper-rambo-bernardo-i-got)

_San Francisco, October 1947_

The stench of the ocean hung in the air as Sousuke made his way through the crowded pier.  Wrinkling his nose, he looked over the people’s heads, trying to see if the information he’d gathered was correct.  But no matter how much he strained his eyes, he never saw the shock of red hair he was searching for.  Gritting his teeth, he brought his hand up to the pendant hanging around his neck, gripping it tightly as though it would somehow lead him to its former owner.

* * *

_"Hey, Sou, are you really leaving?”_

_Sousuke glanced at the younger teen sitting beside him, frowning slightly when he noticed Rin tugging at a strand of his hair.  It had been a nervous habit of the redhead’s for as long as Sousuke had known him._

_“Rin, I promise I’ll come home.  I can’t leave you alone for too long, now can I?”  He smiled a bit, trying to lighten the mood but all he got in return was a pout and watery eyes.  “Don’t cry, Rin.  You’re in charge now.  Take care of Gou and your mom.”_

_Rin sniffled a bit as he rubbed at his eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling.  “I promise.  I’ll take care of everyone, just like you did!”  Sniffling again, Rin reached into his shirt and pulled out the necklace he’d gotten from his father before his passing.  He took it off before putting it on Sousuke.  “So you don’t forget about me.”_

_The necklace weighed heavy around Sousuke’s neck and he glanced at it, fingers brushing the familiar metal of the pendant gently.  When he looked up to thank Rin, he found the smiling, boyish face replaced by another familiar face._

_Kisumi smiled at him and his mouth moved to form words, yet all that came out was blood.  The too-familiar coppery smell flooded Sousuke’s nostrils.  The world went black as he screamed._

* * *

When Sousuke opened his eyes, it was to the familiar ceiling of his tiny apartment and not the European warzone.  The smell of blood was real, though, and he wiped his lip, finding that he had bitten it during his nightmare.  Cursing under his breath, Sousuke forced himself to get up and go clean up in the bathroom.

After patting his lip clean with a tissue, he stripped down for a shower, only leaving on Rin’s necklace.  Despite its rather prominent feature in his nightmares, he couldn’t bring himself to remove it.  It had been five years since Rin had given it to him and he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t take it off until he found the younger man again.

* * *

Sousuke hadn’t been in the city long before he got a lead on Rin’s whereabouts.  It hadn’t exactly been difficult finding information on a redheaded young Japanese man.  Rin was nothing if not memorable. Some things never changed, it seemed.

He’d been given the address to a grocery store that Rin apparently frequented.  Had the Matsuokas opened a store after they had gotten out of the camp?

It had taken Sousuke almost half an hour of wandering around Japantown before he finally stumbled across the store.  The store had a family name on the front but it wasn’t Matsuoka.  He supposed it could be the maiden name of Rin’s mother.  Well, it didn’t really matter, as long as he found Rin.

Stepping into the store, he glanced around briefly, hoping that Rin was actually here.  He didn’t want to wait around for the younger man and have people think he was some kind of creep.  With a frown, Sousuke made his way further into the store, heading towards the sounds of a cash register on his left.

As he stepped past the last shelf, his eyes landed on a young man leaning against the register counter.  The red hair was unmistakable, even if Rin had lost his baby face and had shot up several inches.  When he moved, the store lights caught on the three gold earrings adorning his right ear, making them shine.  Rin was still as scrawny as Sousuke remembered him, which sent a pang of guilt and worry through him.  He should have found him sooner.

 “Rin.”

The redhead froze for a moment before turning to look at Sousuke with wide eyes.  He stared at him for a while longer before pushing off the counter and heading straight for Sousuke.

When Rin pulled back his right arm to throw a punch, Sousuke stepped back before falling into a similar stance.  They hurled their fists at each other, changing trajectory at the last second so their forearms met in a cross.  Rin started to laugh as they completed the rest of the complicated steps of their handshake before throwing his arms around Sousuke.

“Took you long enough to find me,” he said and Sousuke had to take a moment to marvel in the deepness of Rin’s voice.  It sounded so grown up, though he supposed Rin _was_ an adult now.  Rin was no longer that fifteen year old kid Sousuke had left behind five years ago.

Wrapping an arm around Rin, Sousuke used his free hand to ruffle Rin’s hair, a warm smile on his face.  “But I _did_ find you.”

Sousuke could have sworn Rin’s cheeks turned red but the smaller man quickly pulled away from him, turning back to the counter.

“Oi, Haru, can I have some time off?”  He asked, addressing a stoic looking man Sousuke had failed to notice.

Haru simply shrugged, his apathetic gaze settling onto Sousuke.  A small frown tugged at the corner of his lips before he looked at Rin again.  “Fine.  It’s not like you were really doing much anyway.”

“Hey, I do plenty!  In case you don’t remember, I’m the one who kept this place safe last week.”  Rin’s eyes narrowed a bit as he stomped over to Haru, ignoring Sousuke and the store owner at the cash register.

“Makoto helped,” Haru said, sounding annoyed, though he didn’t move from his spot against the counter.

“Makoto didn’t do anything except cry most of the time!  I don’t know _why_ you send him on jobs like that.  You should have sent Gou.  At least my sister can handle blood without turning into a baby!”

Haru moved so quickly that Rin hadn’t even finished his sentence before he was shoved against the counter with a knife at his throat.  Sousuke stepped forward to intervene, his eyes narrowed at Haru’s back, but Rin held up a hand to stop him.

“Sousuke, don’t,” he said before turning his attention back to Haru.  “Back off.  It’s your own fault for sending Makoto on jobs he can’t handle.  Just let Gou and me handle things!”

The tension between the two was thick, though Sousuke was silently amazed that the little old man at the register hadn’t even flinched at the scuffle.  How often did Rin pick fights with this Haru character anyway?

After a few more moments of tense silence, Haru pulled away, tucking his knife into a sheath hidden beneath his shirt.  “You and your sister have one more chance, Matsuoka.  If you screw up again or frighten our clients again with your… _behavior_ , you two are never working together again.”

Rin’s glare turned cold as he shoved himself off the counter before brushing past Haru.  “It was one time,” he muttered, making his way over to Sousuke.  Without pausing, he grabbed Sousuke’s arm and dragged him out of the store.

His grip was tight as he pulled Sousuke behind the store and over to a motorcycle.  “Get on.”

“Rin, what the hell is going on?  And how can you afford something like this?”  The bike was nice, _really_ nice, and definitely out of the price range of a _Nisei_ punk kid who hung around grocery stores all day.  “Is that a Harley?”

The shock must have been apparent on his face because Rin glanced at him and burst into laughter.  “Relax, Sou.  It’s not like I _stole_ it or anything.”  He grinned brightly at Sousuke before straddling the bike.  “Get on already.  We can talk at your place.”

* * *

Sousuke had never been motion sick before in his life, but he was sure that Rin’s driving would be the cause of his first bout of the sickness, if not the death of them both.

When Rin pulled to a screeching stop in front of Sousuke’s apartment building, Sousuke clambered off the bike, trying desperately to breathe through the nausea.  “Who the hell taught you to drive?!”

Rin glanced at him before laughing.  “Haru.  And before you ask, he taught himself to drive.”

Groaning, Sousuke helped Rin move to bike to the parking garage before showing his old friend up to his apartment.  Since he had been in the city for less than a month with few funds and fewer interests outside of finding his old friend, the apartment was still sparse, but at least that meant no clutter for Rin to get annoyed at.

There was an awkward silence as the two of them stood in Sousuke’s doorway.  A few moments passed before Rin grew antsy and wandered into the kitchen.  “I’ll make tea.”

Sousuke’s eyes followed him, narrowing slightly when he noticed a knife tucked into Rin’s pocket.  Without a second thought, he stepped up behind Rin, who was filling the kettle at the sink, and pulled the knife out of his pocket.  He slammed it onto the counter beside them, growling, “What the hell is this, Rin?  What have you gotten yourself into?”

Rin stiffened up against his front, dropping the kettle into the sink in surprise.  After recovering from his shock, he turned to face Sousuke, pushing him back until there were a few feet of room between them.  Strangely, there was a light dusting of pink on his cheeks as he glared at Sousuke.

“First off, don’t do that thing with your voice,” he started, ignoring Sousuke’s confused look.  “Second, I did the best I could, Sou.  But you didn’t come back right away and there was only so much I could do.  We did what we could, so our parents could work legal jobs without the fear of not being able to feed us.”

After his outburst, Rin looked away from Sousuke, slipping his knife back into his pocket before crossing his arms.  He was closing off, something Sousuke had seen him do many times after his father had died.  It broke his heart and he felt his anger dissipate, at least for the time being.  Stepping close to Rin again, he pulled him into a gentle hug, stroking his hair with one hand.  “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner, Rin.”

After a few moments, Rin slowly unfolded his arms and gripped the front of Sousuke’s shirt.  “I-Idiot,” his mumbled, voice shaking as he started to cry.

* * *

That night, Rin had demanded to sleep over, saying he wanted to hear more about what Sousuke had been doing since the war.  Sousuke had simply shrugged and answered, “Looked for you,” before starting to make dinner for two instead of one.

“Yeah, I figured.  But what else?”

Sousuke glanced back at Rin, who had made himself at home at his small kitchen table.  “I moved around, trying to track you down.  Then I moved here.”  Turning back to the food, he let silence fill the room, even if it was strange for Rin not to talk his ears off.

Once the noodle dish was finished, he dished it up onto two plates before setting the table.  Sousuke frowned slightly when he noticed Rin tugging at a strand of his hair and, without thinking, he reached over to place his hand on Rin’s.  “What’s wrong?”

Rin looked a bit startled by the touch but he said nothing about it.  Instead, he simply moved his hand away from his hair to pick up his chopsticks.  “You don’t have to go through so much trouble for someone like me,” he muttered, avoiding Sousuke’s gaze.

“I wanted to.  Now eat.”

* * *

After stealing a pair of sweats and a large shirt to sleep in, Rin had flopped back onto Sousuke’s bed, taking up most of it by sprawling out as much as he could manage.

“Scoot.  You’re not as small as you used to be,” Sousuke said, though he couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice as he tried to nudge Rin out of the way.

Rin snorted but rolled to one side of the bed.  “You’re just too big.  The war ended two years ago and look at you!  You’re still huge!”

“I like to work out,” was the only answer Sousuke could give him.  He couldn’t admit to Rin that he stayed in shape just in case.  There were no specific circumstances for that ‘just in case,’ but keeping his strength up helped ease some of his post-war paranoia.

Despite having moved Rin to the other side of his small bed, as soon as Sousuke had laid down, Rin was curled up against his side.  He rolled his eyes, shoving Rin gently.  “I’m not the bed, you know.”

“But you’re crazy warm.  It’s nice.”  Rin gave him a sleepy smile as he spoke and Sousuke sighed, knowing he was done for.  Really, all Rin had to do was smile sweetly and he could probably get Sousuke to do anything he wanted.  What a brat.

Rin’s necklace slid to the side as Sousuke shifted.  He’d forgotten about it, too caught up in everything that was Rin.  Taking it off, he gently pressed it into Rin’s hand.  “I kept it safe for you.

It was quiet for a few moments before Rin sighed and put the necklace back on Sousuke.  “I gave it to you, stupid.  It’s not mine anymore.”  He smiled brightly before making himself comfortable again and closed his eyes.

Pulling the blankets up to cover them, Sousuke fiddled with the necklace as he watched Rin fall asleep.  Like this, he could almost pretend that everything was alright.  That the camp, the war, Rin joining a gang had never happened.

* * *

It was barely dawn when Sousuke woke, the taste of blood in his mouth and the image of a dead friend burned against the backs of his eyelids.

Carefully, he extracted himself from Rin’s arms and hurried to the bathroom.  His hands shook as he cleaned his lip and he cursed silently when he dropped the tissue.  Blood dripped into the sink and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force down the memories.

“Sousuke…?”

At the voice, Sousuke whipped around, staring at Rin with wide eyes.  In Sousuke’s oversized clothing, Rin looked small again, like the teenage boy Sousuke had left behind five years ago.  It only strengthened his resolve to protect Rin and he grabbed the tissue, shoving it against his lip.

“I’m fine.  Musta bit it in my sleep,” he mumbled, avoiding Rin’s tired gaze.  Lying to Rin wasn’t ideal but it was to protect him.  The horrors of war were not something he ever wanted Rin to know.  “Go back to bed.”

Rin fidgeted for a moment before ignoring Sousuke’s words, choosing instead to walk up to the taller man.  Gently, he pulled Sousuke’s hand away from his mouth, inspecting the damage.  If he noticed the other healing scabs on Sousuke’s lip, he said nothing, choosing instead to simply hold Sousuke’s hand.  “I’ll be here for you, Sou.”

* * *

_November 1947_

Rin’s overnight visits soon became an easy routine for the two of them and Sousuke found that his nightmares were less frequent whenever the redhead shared his bed.

But despite Sousuke’s reservations, Rin had refused to quit the gang, though he promised to be careful.  The promise didn’t put Sousuke’s worries at ease, however, especially not on the few occasions that Rin would slip into the apartment with a bag of ice over one of his eyes.

Sousuke’s anger would bubble back up to the surface and they would yell at each other until the neighbors banged on the walls for them to shut up.  Only then would they calm down enough for Rin to let Sousuke patch him up.  And if either of them felt their heartbeat quicken whenever Sousuke’s fingers moved gently over Rin’s skin, they kept their mouths shut.

* * *

A frantic knocking at his door had Sousuke on his feet instantly, dropping the book he’d been reading onto the floor.  He yanked the door open, expecting to see his upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Tanaka, asking for help getting her cat off the fire escape again.  Instead, he came face to face with a timid looking man about his height, with surprisingly bright green eyes.

“What do you want?”  Sousuke frowned at him, wondering if he should know this man.

“Ah, um, I’m Tachibana Makoto.  There really isn’t time for us to talk.  Here,” he said, thrusting what appeared to be a briefcase into Sousuke’s hands.  “It’s from Haru.  H-He thought you’d know how to use it, considering you were a soldier, and I mean, o-one of us could probably figure it out but there isn’t really any time for that.”

The weight of the briefcase made Sousuke’s stomach sink but he didn’t push it back into the man’s hands.  Something was obviously wrong if Haru of all people was asking for his help.  “It’s Rin, isn’t it?”  He was already out the door when he spoke, shutting it behind him.

Tachibana had to jog to keep up with Sousuke’s pace as he hurried down the hallway.  “Yes…  Gou managed to get away but Rin’s still at the store.  She said the easiest way to get in is through the back.”

Without another word, Sousuke left Tachibana behind and headed out of the building, starting to make his way through the alleyways toward the grocery store.

* * *

The sound of gunfire set Sousuke’s teeth on edge as he stopped about a block from the store.  Setting the briefcase down, he opened it up and stared at the assault rifle.  “Shit.”  How the fuck had Haru gotten his hands on an StG 44?  Just how deep into the underworld did Haru’s connections go?

Another burst of gunfire shook Sousuke out of his thoughts and he quickly pulled on the pair of leather gloves inside the case before assembling the rifle.  Getting Rin out of this mess came first.  He could grill Haru for answers later.

Lifting the rifle, he gave it one last check before making his way to the back of the store.  It was quieter back here, though there was a man trying to break through the back entrance.  Sousuke didn’t recognize him, and he doubted someone from Rin’s gang would be trying to break into the store, but just in case, he snuck up behind him and knocked him out with the butt of the gun.

Stepping over the unconscious man, Sousuke slung the rifle over his left shoulder by the strap before ramming his right shoulder against the door.  It gave quickly after a few hits and he thanked any gods that might be listening that the other man hadn’t been strong enough to break it.

The door led into what appeared to be a back office.  Moving through it quickly, Sousuke came upon another door.  He hesitated when he heard gunfire on the other side.  He remembered the blood, remembered holding Kisumi as he died.  Did he really want to go through something like that again?

As a habit, he reached up to clutch Rin’s necklace, the cold metal helping to ground him in reality and the thought of Rin trapped in there made him push forward.

The store itself was a mess, with shelves and food knocked all over the floor.  Sousuke had to quickly crouch behind one of the knocked down shelves, narrowly missing a stream of bullets.  Slinging the rifle off his shoulder, he gripped it tightly as he listened for the sound of movement.

Footsteps neared him and he counted to three silently before leaning around the corner.  Sousuke prayed that his aim was still good as he fired a short burst at the man.  His hands exploded in a shower of blood and bone and Sousuke knew he would be adding that to his list of nightmares.

The man went down with a scream, cradling his mutilated hands and Sousuke got up, sending a swift kick to his head to knock him out.  He grabbed the discarded gun before going back to his hiding place.  Emptying that gun of ammunition and shoving the bullets in his pocket, he tossed the gun aside before focusing his attention back to the store.

A familiar mop of red hair poked out from behind the meat counter and Sousuke felt the tightness in his chest ease ever so slightly as he met Rin’s eyes.  Rin was _alive_ and that was enough for him to keep going.

Rin held up two fingers before pointing towards the front of the store.  Another round of gunfire sent Rin diving back behind the counter, though Sousuke didn’t miss the look of absolute terror on his face.

This was everything he had been hoping to spare Rin from.  He felt an ugly anger burning through his chest as he got up, sneaking around to the front of the store.  It took him longer than he would have wanted but he had to carefully step around spilled food to keep the assailants from noticing him.

After what felt like an eternity of creeping around the small grocery store, he came up behind the remaining two men.  A part of him, an ugly part, trained and twisted by war, told him to shoot the men in the backs and be done with it.  But another part, the one that so desperately wanted to spare Rin from violence, called out to the men.

“Behind you.”

They turned around, stunned that he had managed to appear behind them.  Sousuke used their surprise to his advantage, shooting their hands in the same way he had done to the other gangster.  Their screams set Sousuke’s teeth on edge and he didn’t hesitate to swing the butt of his gun at them to render them unconscious.

When the screams finally stopped, he moved quickly, disarming their guns and shoving the ammunition into one of his pockets. Then, he did the same for his assault rifle before tossing the StG 44 aside.  He had to get Rin out of here and a gun would only attract unwanted attention.

Once that was done, he hurried over to the meat counter, feeling the tightness in his chest return when he spotted blood.  Ignoring the terrified store owner, he picked Rin up despite the redhead’s protests.

“Sousuke, it’s not bad!  It’s barely a graze.  Are you even listening to me?!”  Rin struggled a bit but Sousuke didn’t set him down until they were out back by Rin’s motorcycle.

Sousuke straddled the bike before turning to Rin.  “Give me the keys and get on.”  He grit his teeth, trying to ignore the way Rin held his injured side.

Rin hesitated for a moment before climbing onto the bike behind Sousuke.  Without another word, he pressed the keys into Sousuke’s hand and wrapped his arms around Sousuke’s middle.

* * *

Sousuke wasn’t sure where he was going, only that he needed to get Rin as far away from that store as possible.  He only stopped when he heard Rin mumble “Sou, I’m dizzy.”  Pulling into an alley, he stopped the bike and dismounted before helping Rin off.

Rin went back to clutching his side, avoiding Sousuke’s eyes.

“Let me see it,” Sousuke said, trying to keep his voice soft so Rin wouldn’t get scared again.

All he got in response was a frown as Rin continued to stare at the ground like it was the most interesting thing on Earth.

“Rin, please.  I need to see it.  I need to make sure you’re okay.”  Sousuke’s voice was shaking slightly as he stepped closer to the younger man.

Rin shied away, though he did look up to frown at him.  “I’m fine, Sousuke.  What the hell was that back there, huh?  You just… show up and incapacitate those guys like it’s nothing!  I should be asking if _you’re_ okay!”

Sousuke sighed before gently grabbing Rin’s arms, trying to get Rin to stop moving away from him.  “I’m okay.  But I’ll feel even better if you let me look at your side.”  If Rin noticed the trembling in Sousuke’s arms as he held him, he said nothing.

“I’m not the same kid you left behind!  I can handle a little injury like this just fine!  Why do you even care so much?!”  Rin’s voice cracked as he hurled that question at Sousuke, the tears in his eyes betraying how scared he actually was.

“It’s because I love you!”  The words were out of Sousuke’s mouth before he could stop them and he stared at Rin with a look of surprise that the redhead perfectly mirrored.

Realizing that he had pulled Rin closer during his spontaneous confession, Sousuke quickly let go of him and backed away.  An awkward silence settled between the two of them.

Then Rin started to cry.

“You’re telling me this now?!  Sousuke, we could have died!  Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”  Despite the tears, there was a smile on Rin’s face and Sousuke felt some of the tightness in his chest vanish.

“You’re not… mad I said that?”

Rin rolled his eyes before grabbing Sousuke’s shirt to pull him closer.  “No, stupid.  If I was mad about it, I woulda kicked your ass.”

Sousuke snorted at that.  “As if you could.”  He felt a smile of his own tug at his lips as he wrapped his arms around Rin gently.  “Well, since that’s out of the way, will you _please_ let me look at your side?”

“Fine.  But it’s really not that bad.”  Pulling out of the hug, Rin carefully lifted his shirts, wincing slightly as they stuck to the wound.  Sousuke expected the worst, he always did after Kisumi, but it was, thankfully, a shallow injury.  He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked it over.

“What happened?”

Rin shrugged a bit, keeping his shirts up as he watched Sousuke tear of the bottom of his tank top to wrap around the wound.  “One of them tried to knife me but I was too fast.  I’m _always_ faster.”

“Well, you won’t need to worry about that anymore.  There is no way I’m letting you stay in a gang.  Hell, I can’t believe you let Gou join!”  Sousuke tightened the strip of cloth around Rin’s middle before pulling down the black and red shirts.  “I’ll stitch you up at my apartment.  Come on.”  He got back on the bike and waited for Rin to join him.

Sousuke could see the hesitation on Rin’s face before the redhead finally climbed back onto the bike.

“Will you really help me?”  Rin’s voice was soft and muffled against Sousuke’s back.  It hurt Sousuke’s heart to know that he was the cause of Rin’s doubt.

“I promise.  I won’t leave you again,” he said, voice soft as he started the engine again.  He felt Rin’s arms tighten around him as they started to move.

A soft kiss was pressed against his shoulder and before he moved the bike onto the main street, Sousuke heard Rin mumble a soft, “Thank you.”


End file.
